new_kingdoms_players_guidefandomcom-20200215-history
Chapter Two: The New Kingdoms and North Yalanthia
As the New Kingdoms are a fairly young region, a brief overview of each kingdom, along with the dwarvenfasts and Annwngart will be provided. This overview might change over time, but at the moment this represents the character of these fledgeling realms. New Eirdamni Oh, the men there are alright, I guess. Don’t look at ya crosswise just ‘cause you’re shorter and got a beard, so that’s good. Still, can’t say I take too much to their idea of “tolerance”. Blasted high elves walking about the place like they didn’t just put us through two centuries of torment. It’s enough to make a dwarf want to spit, I tell you. --Dvari Doomhelmet So, when King Skirvir sent me to New Eirdamni to open trade negotiations there, I couldn’t say “no”, could I? This bold new experiment in governance, lords and commoners having equal say in their lawmaking, it’s a sight to see. True, us dwarves have been doing that for millennia, but it’s nice to see the humans taking a cue from us, for once, instead of aping the elves all the time. They’ve got some rough edges to work out sure, but so far it seems to be working all right. What’s more, they’ve made it a policy that New Eirdamni isn’t just a land for human folk. You’ll see all kinds in the villages and towns that dot the landscape - halflings, dwarves, gnomes, elves (even the bloody high elves). I swear I even saw a dragonborn and and a few tieflings thereabouts - I’d always thought the things were a myth. Arrowfeed A pleasant enough village. Not the smallest in New Eirdamni, but not the biggest either. It gets by on farming. Fair to say that there’s a lot of halflings that live there, and even more of their native kin passing through. Just on the outskirts, though, they say there’s some ruins. Been a few disappearances I hear tell. Folks don’t go out that way if they can help it. I took their advice and I didn’t either. Gorsehollow I don’t know what a “gorse” is nor why anyone’d hollow one. Took me a few hours boat ride to get out there. Why anyone’d want to settle on a damn island is beyond me, but I guess it takes all kinds. It was a garrison and lookout during the war and still a bit of one now. Ships harbor there more than the City of New Eirdamni. Some of them the remains of the fleet from the war. Looks like the High King’s got his navy patrolling the coasts for pirates these days, though I dare say he’s got ‘em givin’ a lookout in case those Eirilnian bastards come pokin’ back around. New Eirdamni Well, what can I say about the capital of this new kingdom? Not much to look at, just yet. More of a large town than city, but all the people flockin’ there will change that soon enough, I’ll tell ya. It’s a bit scattershot, at the moment, but a bit of city plannin’ will change that. Which is part of the reason I was called in. Their new high king’s got some ideas on improvin’ the infrastructure and wants good ol’ dwarven know-how to do it. Their king’s a bit of alright, though a strange one. Friendly fellow, sure. But there were times during my meeting with him and his council when it looked for all the world like he couldn’t be any more bored by the proceedings and had long ago checked. Next thing you know, he speaks up and asks a question so insightful that you know he was following all along. Peasekept This cozy little hamlet lives up to its name, for the most part. Saw a few goliaths up that way, must be comin’ down from the Giantspeak Mountains for trade and supplies. I hope for the sake of this peaceful hamlet nothin’ worse comes down. Riverpass Well, here was an interestin’ town. A trade village, it had a bit of a lively bunch comin’ in and out. The local lord made a bit of a name for himself back during the War. While I was stayin’ there a bit some pirates made the mistake of attempting a raid. I’d say them and their buddies won’t make that mistake again, but none of ‘em made it back to the ship. I can see why that lord made his name. Halflinshire Having previously seen the Little Folk in the bondage of Sutgadden, Halflinshire cannot help but bring a melancholy smile to my face. This is the Little Folk in their natural element, farming and peaceful. They celebrate life even in the midst of a haunted land. For while their villages are serene and idyllic, the land where they have settled is marked with old battlegrounds and vengeful spirits prowl the untamed wilderness separating their towns. This suits most of the halflings just fine - most don’t travel out of their village if they can help it, while those who do find the Old King’s Highway patrolled by the vigilance of the Foresters. Anyone who wanders from that path, they say, deserves whatever they might get. -- Brother Wilton Baylook Baylook provides an interesting contrast to the rest of the settlements of Halflinshire. Populated mainly by Pyrina halflings who have decided to abandon their nomadic ways (or who, perhaps, are returning to their original lifestyle before the invasion of the Eirilnians, as the people of Baylook themselves maintain), Baylook is accessible only by boat - something many of the Little Folk would never allow themselves to be caught dead on. Somehow, Baylook has been unscathed by the recent pirate activity affecting many of the other island cities dotting the New Kingdoms. This has led to it becoming in recent times something of a safe haven for merchant travelers making their way up the coast. Borderlyn The first of the halfling settlements I laid eyes on, and a miraculous sight for one who had mostly lived near Sutgadden. After seeing the abuses of the southern lands, I almost despaired that I ever left the monastery. But Borderlyn is almost archetypal of the promises of the New Kingdoms. Sitting on the border of Halflinshire and Isilton, it consists of a diverse population- about evenly split between humans and halflings, with a good minority of everyone else represented. Borderlyn is to be noted for its bustling trade despite being set so far back from the highway. Dwarves from the mountains make it their first stop on their journeys through the kingdoms - not least because The Fatted Calf is renowned throughout the region for the fineness of its beer and hospitality of its host. “Strange as words from a Calf” is a popular catchphrase throughout Halflinshire. Cragreach Cragreach might actually be considered to be New Eirdamni territory, but the two nations get along well enough and it has enough halflings that it is considered, if unofficially, to be a part of the ‘shire. It is a gloomy land, mostly rocks and sand, and the halflings who have settled there are made of hardy stuff. The pirates of the region are learning that what little wealth Cragreach has is far from easy to obtain. The paladin Peri Lacklunch, a former companion of New Eirdamni’s High King, leads the town and is still quite capable of bashing in heads when called upon. Halflinton This is the town most travelers think of when they think of Halflinshire. Bustling during the harvests and with a laid back industry at all other times. Halflinton is the seat of what commerce the Little Folk can be bothered to lead. The main exports seem to be ale and tobacco, and much of the New Kingdoms’ grain either originates from lands nearby or passes through. Halflinton is also the seat of political power, or what passes for it around this way. Less scheming goes on here than other places- the most contentious political issue seems to be crop rotation. Old Settle In keeping with the halflings’ rather innovative naming scheme, Old Settle is indeed the oldest settlement of halflings- at least of the immigrant families, in the region. It was originally a holding place for the halfling slaves the Eirilnians brought with them, though the halflings took the land as a duck does to water. Old Settle is often the first look people traveling from the south - that is those who are not well-traveled enough to know of Borderlyn and its wonders- often see. It is a quaint, small village, though hardly quiet. Most of the smithies of Halflinshire can be found here. Steadwick Laying on the northern border of Halflinshire, Steadwick is a small farming community. The few halflings that have settled here were called by the fertile land of the region. Most stay away due to the proximity of the village to the Barrowood. The Barrowood well deserves its name - there are indeed old barrows scattered throughout the region and wights have been rumored to lurk through the woods, taking the unaware. Villagers always make sure to have themselves indoors by the first hint of sunset, and have thus avoided the worst of living so close to the ‘Wood. More often travelers, believing themselves to be made of hardier stuff, are the prey of the undead creatures lurking close by. Only the foolish would dare to travel even along the Old King’s Highway when the people of Steadwick give warning - the mists have been known to enclose unwary travelers and lead them into the woods, never to be heard of again.